THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607270367
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COMMENT
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CANTON, OHIO LENGTH: 95 lines
Five-year-old Jeffrey Watson of Youngstown, Ohio, pressed the white telephone receiver hard to his ear. The longer he heard the announcer describe one of the strangest plays in football history, the wider he smiled.
``Hey dad, listen to this,'' he finally yelled at a slender figure who was within whispering distance. ``This guy's here because he ran the wrong way with the ball!''
John Watson stepped over to his son, knelt, and began telling him what he knew of Jim Marshall and why one run in the wrong direction was only part of the former Minnesota Viking's legend.
The Watsons were inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame's ``First Century of Pro Football'' rotunda. They'd already passed the display honoring the seven men acknowledged as the first to play the game for money - Pudge Heffelfinger, Ben Donnelly, Peter Wright, James Van Cleve, Oliver Rafferty, Lawson Fiscus and John Brallier.
They'd already read how Walter Lingo, organizer of the Oorang Indians, paid $100 for his franchise in the American Professional Football Association - $50 less than he received for the Airedale puppies he bred.
They'd seen Ace Parker's kicking shoes from the Portsmouth native's days in the late 1930s and early '40s with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees; Y.A. Tittle's shoulder pads; Joe Namath's knee brace and the eyeglasses quarterback Bob Griese wore under his helmet in 1977.
Today, they'll return to the 83,000-square-foot, four-building museum to watch the induction of the Class of 1996 - Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs; former William & Mary and Detroit Lions guard Lou Creekmur; St. Louis Cardinals offensive tackle, now ABC broadcaster, Dan Dierdorf; San Diego Chargers receiver Charlie Joiner and Dallas Cowboys defensive back and returner Mel Renfro.
When the ceremony is over, they can go back and see what they missed the day before. The Hall is open every day but Christmas.
On Dec. 6, 1959, a writer for The Canton Repository placed the issue of a pro football Hall of Fame squarely before his readers in a column under the headline: ``Pro Football Needs A Hall Of Fame And Logical Site Is Here.''
What made Canton logical was its history. The APFA was founded in Canton in 1920.
The Canton entry in that league, the famous Bulldogs of Jim Thorpe, won championships in 1922 and '23. The city and the game were synonymous.
By 1961, William E. Umstattd was selected by the city to pitch the idea to the NFL. Three months later, the idea was accepted. In August, 1962, the original Hall of Fame opened.
The last three years, visitors have increased by 20 percent. The average annual attendance is 250,000.
``We wanted an attraction like no other in this country,'' said John Thomas, supervisor of operations for the Hall of Fame. ``This building contains pro football info and material you can't find anywhere else.''
A non-profit organization only loosely connected to the NFL - four owners and commissioner Paul Tagliabue sit on the 16-member Board of Directors but have no more authority than the other 11 - the Hall celebrates men for what they accomplished on the field and nothing else. O.J. Simpson's bronze bust, uniform and a display featuring him and the Electric Company, occupy the same prominent spots as before two summers ago.
There's a seven-foot statue of Thorpe in the front lobby. Up the ramp is a new exhibit, Pro Football Today, with displays featuring the helmets and histories of each of the league's 31 teams.
Thirty-one?
The Hall hasn't forgotten the Cleveland Browns.
Early Friday morning, a worker finished moving the display for the franchise without a team from its usual perch within the AFC Central to a ``neutral'' corner of the room still highly visible to visitors. The Baltimore Ravens' exhibit was installed in its place. There will be 31 team flags hoisted above Fawcett Stadium this afternoon when the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts play.
There's a recently expanded Enshrinee's Momentoes Room. Inside are curiosities like the Virginia license plate that reads ``44 Riggo'' in honor of Redskins' running back John Riggins and the players' bench from Lambeau Field the last day Vince Lombardi coached the Green Bay Packers.
Last year, the Hall completed a $9.2 million addition, called ``GameDay Stadium'' and the accompanying show ``The 100-Yard Universe.'' Produced by NFL Films, ``Universe'' is shown on a 20-by-42-foot Cinemascope screen, the first time pro football films have been presented in that format.
The show starts in the locker rooms of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs hours before kickoff.
Rod Woodson and Chesapeake's Darren Perry share an inside joke; Chiefs' defensive coordinator Dave Adolph reviews strategy with Derrick Thomas. Players sing, dance, sleep, shadow box, hug, slap, head-butt, laugh, cry and, finally pray as kickoff approaches.
As they walk down the tunnel to the field, the seats in the theatre shift 180 degrees to face a different screen. Highlights of last season and Dallas' Super Bowl victory over Pittsburgh, all set to symphonic music, are documented again.
Today, another class enters the Hall. The first game of another season is staged. The next chapter of football history will soon find its way to Canton. ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO COURTESY NFL HALL OF FAME
Five new busts, including that of former Skins' coach Joe Gibbs,
will be added to the Hall after today's induction ceremonies. by CNB